jim reed, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news.of the former president jacob zuma continue to spread. the first unrest broke out after the former leader handed himself in to begin a 15 month sentence for defying orders to co—operate with a corruption inquiry. there have been reports of looting nearjohannesburg and here in durban. at least 12 migrants have been killed and 20 others injured in eastern turkey when their bus crashed. the vehicle was carrying afghan, bangladeshi and pakistanis and travelling near the iranian border when the driver lost control and it overturned in a ditch and burst into flames. a us delegation is due to visit haiti later, to assess the security situation following the assassination of president jovenel moise by mercenaries. president biden's envoys will also meet the three politicians claiming to be haiti's legitimate leaders. on saturday the fomer presiden's widow urged people to continue fighting for their rights. pope francis has appeared in public for the first time since undergoing surgery a week a

jim reed, bbc news.resident, cyril ramaphosa, has warned that the country's economy is being damaged by violent protests over the jailing of the former leaderjacob zuma. the police say dozens of people have been arrested after lorries were torched and shops looted. at least twelve migrants have been killed and twenty others injured in eastern turkey when their bus crashed. the vehicle was carrying afghans, bangladeshis and pakistanis near the iranian border when the driver lost control and it overturned in a ditch and burst into flames. a us delegation is due to visit haiti later, to assess the security situation following the assassination of president jovenel moise by mercenaries. president biden�*s envoys will also meet the three politicians claiming to be haiti's legitimate leaders. on saturday, the former president's widow urged people to continue fighting for their rights. pope francis has appeared in public for the first time since undergoing surgery a week ago. the 84—year—old pontiff led his wee

jim reed, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent is here. a relatively new health secretary.ng on a process which gives people who have had two vaccinations greater freedom than ever before stop health isolation, he mentioned, he is also talking about a travel announcement later this week. getting back in from amber countries if you have been double vaccinated without having to self—isolate. but the policy isn't without consequences. there is perhaps one good reason why people who are in contact with people who have had covid will be no longer be expected from mid august to self—isolate. that is the sheer number of cases. this hundred thousand figures which sajid javid has been mentioning. that could be nearly three quarters of a million people self isolating in a week because they are ill. if all their contacts had to self—isolate as well, that has a huge effect on everyday life. this is it spelt out in this government document, perhaps not widely read, but let me read out the key section. it says there will be high levels of infection and therefore disruption to lives, the

jim reed, bbc news.shire, the home town of the british swimmer tom dean. eleanor roper reports. it's an all—nighter, but not like any other. tom's family this morning, having still not been to bed. wild cheering this was the scene last night as tom swam his way to olympic gold. hours later, and his family still can't believe it. i can't even put it into words. it'sjust, like, the most amazing thing... oh, i'm going to cry, this isn't good! ..that�*s ever happened. it's just like it makes everything worth it. and this is him at nationals, getting ready. tom is one of five children who are all keen swimmers. his youngest brother william shows us tom in his goggles when he was barely old enough to walk, but it's mum jacquie that has spent years driving everyone to the pool. i've taken tom to every one of his training sessions since he was a baby. i got him in the water when he was a few weeks old. i've taken him to all his events, counties, regionals, nationals, and all the open meets, and i've followed him

jim reed, bbc news.iously injured when an unoccupied car ran a man from norfolk is back with his family after spending the whole year for hospital. sean hunte was in hospitalfor for hospital. sean hunte was in hospital for 303 days for hospital. sean hunte was in hospitalfor 303 days —— for hospital. sean hunte was in hospital for 303 days —— 203 days. michael wiggins has more. he has diabetes, pancreatitis and then caught covid in the norfolk and norwich university hospital. the 58—year—old teacher was put on a ventilator, but the doctors didn't think you'd survive. the ventilator, but the doctors didn't think you'd survive.— ventilator, but the doctors didn't think you'd survive. the doctors i soke to think you'd survive. the doctors i spoke to said _ think you'd survive. the doctors i spoke to said i _ think you'd survive. the doctors i spoke to said i was _ think you'd survive. the doctors i spoke to said i was that - think you'd survive. the doctors i spoke to said i was that close to | spoke to sai

jim reed, bbc news.umstances — even after covid restrictions are relaxed. welsh ministers will decide this week whether to lower the alert level to zero. but they say masks will still be required by law on public transport and in health and social care settings, for as long as covid remains a threat. experts have warned that it is possible to catch two covid variants at the same time, after a 90—year—old woman became sick with both the alpha and beta types, first identified in the uk and south africa. the woman, who died in march 2021 in belgium, had not been vaccinated. her doctors suspect she contracted the infections from two different people. researchers believe it is the first documented case of its kind, and, although rare, similar dual infections may be happening. they are discussing the case at the european congress of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases today. parts of the us are braced for more record—breaking temperatures — having already endured the hottest june on record. forecasters

our health correspondent jim reed reports. i'm in icu. my lungs collapsed.back 18 months on. paul was 31—years—old last march when he was taken to hospital with what later turned out to be covid. it was the worst experience of my life, obviously. it was horrific. it's one of those things, you don't know how to really deal with it but you mentallyjust do. you don't know how. well, before the pandemic, paul was diagnosed with bronchiectasis, a serious lung condition. in hospital, he was told covid had caused pneumonia. i couldn't believe how this virus had ruined my body so quickly. and the fight that i would have to fight. i could see on their face that they were quite shocked, but they did everything they could. paul was treated here in colchester last year. he is certain the staff at this hospital saved his life. what we didn't know at the time, though, was just how much damage a severe covid infection could do to the body. now a new study has looked back at the first wave of the pandemic to see how those who needed hospital treatment were affected. an anal

jim reed, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is in westminster. to when the 3pp well, if you think back to when the app was introduced, it was at a time when the government needed to limit the spread of coronavirus, get people to isolate if they had come into contact with someone who tested positive, to stop the nhs being overwhelmed and limit the number of people who could die. things are different now, with more people being vaccinated, the restrictions will be lifted in england and cases have been rising and will rise further. so it is no surprise that large numbers are being pinged, but the rules around isolation are not yet changing. until mid—august when adults who have had both jabs won't need to isolate if they are a close contact with a covid case. we are told in the meantime there could be tweaks to make the app less sensitive, but there are warnings that that could undermine the entire system. downing street is stressing that people are still encouraged to follow the rules and isolate when told to do so, describing the app as a crucial

jim reed, bbc news.nal surgery a week ago. a crowd gathered outside rome's gemelli hospital where the pope was being treated for his weekly prayer, and he stepped out onto a balcony and thanked well—wishers for their support. the vatican says the pope's recovery is on track, but added he is not yet well enough to return home. sir richard branson is preparing to fly to the edge of space today. the businessman and his virgin galactic crew will take off from new mexico — it was originally scheduled for 2pm uk time but has been delayed by an hour and a half because of the weather. it comes just nine days before another high profile entrepreneur — the amazon founderjeff bezos — is planning his own space launch. tim allman has more. billionaire entrepreneurs heading into space are a bit like buses, you wait ages and then two come along almost at once. first up, sir richard branson and his unity rocket plane. taking off from a space port in new mexico, the virgin galactic crew should reach a height of 50 miles,

jim reed, bbc news.n see another 26 deaths recorded in the last 2a hours and 31,772 new infections across the uk. it means on average there were around 31,500 new cases per day in the past week. more than 93,000 people had a first dose of the vaccine in the last 2a hours. that means nearly 46 million people have had theirfirstjab — or 87% of uk adults. more than 211,000 people have just had a second dose, which means more than 34.5 million — or 61% of adults — are fully vaccinated. 0nto wimbledon, and it's been a centre court thriller for the final of the men's singles. winning his sixth wimbledon final, novak djokovic has equalled roger federer and rafael nadal�*s 20 grand slam titles. the italian matteo berrettini took the serb to four sets. but as joe wilson reports from the all—england club, the world number one was just too strong. at wimbledon, there are always people we miss. strong look. but now, a first opportunity for matteo berrettini. against him, novak djokovic, the ultimate immovable oppone

thank you, jim reed. the prime minister has competed itself isolation.ple to be cautious and not jump to he urged people to be cautious and notjump to premature conclusions after the latest fall in the coronavirus cases. 0ur corresponding nick eardley chances, i did seems the prime minister is not sure why cases have fallen? lats the prime minister is not sure why cases have fallen?— cases have fallen? lots of people are t in: cases have fallen? lots of people are trying to _ cases have fallen? lots of people are trying to figure _ cases have fallen? lots of people are trying to figure out _ cases have fallen? lots of people are trying to figure out exactly i cases have fallen? lots of people l are trying to figure out exactly why full six days now we have seen the number of positive cases apparently going down. it is only a couple of weeks since i was concern and warnings from government that the number of cases could reach 100,000 a day, yesterday it was under 25,000. the prime minister is one of those affected by that, as a close contact of the health

jim reed, bbc news. our political correspondent chris mason is in westminster.r later, is there a bit of a change of tone from him on this? i later, is there a bit of a change of tone from him on this?— later, is there a bit of a change of tone from him on this? i think there is, don't tone from him on this? i think there is. don't expect _ tone from him on this? i think there is. don't expect a — tone from him on this? i think there is, don't expect a blaze _ tone from him on this? i think there is, don't expect a blaze of— is, don't expect a blaze of libertarian exuberance from the prime minister, instead his language will be laden with caution, vigilance, and acceptance the pandemic is not over. what we are going to get and what is consistent with what the government said a week ago is the easing of restrictions legally, the last remaining legal restrictions on social contact in england going. but restrictions on social contact in england going-— restrictions on social contact in encland anoin. �* . , , england going. but with an emphasis that is replaced _ e

jim reed, bbc news.ttings for as long as covid remains a threat. it is not only wembley where the sporting action is taking place... there is also sport at wimbledon. earlier, britain's gordon reid narrowly missed out on a second men's wheelchair singles title, losing to belgium'sjoachim gerard. the men's singles final is now underway on centre court. i will hand straight over to our correspondent who is there for us, so how are the two men are doing? well when i was last with you, lukwesa, it looked like djokovic was doing what he normally does and not necessarily playing his best tennis, but still getting the job done, he was 3—1 up in the first set, 5—2 up in the first set, sorry, a set point in the first set, sorry, a set point in the first set, sorry, a set point in the first set, against matteo berrettini, playing in his first wimbledon final, his first grand slam but i can take that very teeny has fought back brilliantly and won the first set against novak djokovic on a tie—break from games to six

jim reed, bbc news.even that is up by 23%. 26 people have died, people who have died within 28 days of a positive test, so 26 people have died, and in terms of hospital admissions, that is currently 563. in terms of the vaccinations, an increase of 211,000, 446 for that second dose. that is the daily second dose. that is the daily second dose. that is the daily second dose. —— 2011,446. in terms of the first dose, 11%. 45 point 8 million people and a total second doseis million people and a total second dose is 47.7 million, which is 66% of the total adult population in the uk. in the last hour, sir richard branson and his crew have set off from new mexico to —— have set off to fly. it comes just a few days before jeff bezos to fly. it comes just a few days beforejeff bezos has his launch. this is a live launch that you can see on the screen. our correspondent has been following this closely. so, jonathan, where are we with this trip? what state of the trip are we at? ~ ., ~ . ., ., , at? well, we are in

jim reed, thank you very much.sabled people have been affected by the pandemic. one issue raised has been access to healthcare in line with patient need and responsive to their individual circumstances. more than 1,500 disabled respondents told bbc news that they felt worried about going into hospital. hundreds said they would avoid it at all costs. our disability news correspondent nikki fox has been speaking to the family of one man who wanted to highlight his experience in hospital. my uncle derek was really childlike, he was a lovely man. he loved the simple things in life. he was my brother and i loved him. this is derek when he was younger. the 59—year—old was taken to hospital after falling ill late last year. he was diagnosed with cancer, which the family was told was treatable. while he was there, he caught covid and died. it went from him feeling unwell to being dead in such a short space of time. becky cared for derek but covid restrictions around visitors meant she could not be there for him when he nee

here's our health correspondent, jim reed.on the news, and that's measuring people who come forward normally with symptoms of the virus and then test positive. that's what it's measuring. those figures have been very encouraging for the last week or so, showing a sharp downward trend, as you can see here on the graph. on the right—hand side of the graph, you are seeing that trend fall down. there is, though, a different way of measuring infections, also very carefully watched. and this is where the office of national statistics goes out and randomly samples people in the population, about half a million people in the uk. and that can measure notjust people with symptoms but people who are not actually sick with co—that at the time. that data is outjust in the last 15 minutes. it shows in the week to last saturday, actually, cases were rising slightly. so across the uk, just short of a million people, 950,000 people had covid in that week, up from about 830,000 the week before, up in england, wales and northern ireland, down sl

jim reed, bbc news. be long queues at the uk border as international travel continues to open up. 0ur transport correspondent caroline davis reports now it�*s time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. just limited sunny spells around today. some big clouds developing too with a few showers, thunderstorms, could be some slow—moving torrential downpours in some places. you see them scattered around here, more towards central and eastern parts of england, into scotland as well. but a shower is possible just about anywhere. a lot of cloud in wales and south—west england, could see a bit of patchy rain out of that. fairly warm, fairly humid, of course, particularly where you get to see a few of those sunny spells. a few heavy, thundery downpours continuing to this evening before easing. another spell of rain pushing into south—west england, parts of wales as the night goes on. and as for temperatures tonight, they are holding up. it is a mild, muggy night to come. it could be a bit misty in plac

jim reed, bbc news.trachan, for your time on bbc news this afternoon. does this study back up what you have been saying over the last 18 months, namely patients with severe covid having a high probability of a developing one or more complications?— more complications? absolutely ri . ht. more complications? absolutely right- thank _ more complications? absolutely right. thank you _ more complications? absolutely right. thank you for _ more complications? absolutely right. thank you for having i more complications? absolutely right. thank you for having me. | more complications? absolutely i right. thank you for having me. the patients i have treated with covid as anaesthetist consultant in intensive care have been really sick and sadly many of them have died, but in those who has survived, we are seeing in hospital them developing complications and as the report said, be that with their kidneys, heart or lungs, and it is notjust kidneys, heart or lungs, and it is not just affecting kidneys, heart or lung

jim reed, bbc news. london. louis hughes will appear before magistrate this month. time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello there. today has been a warmer day with more in the way of thatjuly sunshine to go around. we've had some beautiful weather watcher pictures sent to us. this one looks like it came from the caribbean. it's actually off the western isles in scotland. we have seen some showers and those storms working away from the far north of england, southern scotland. you are going to see some further bands of thundery rain, returning northern london. through the weekend, we've got some big downpours on the way. these could bring some problems as well. saturday morning, our band of thundery rain continues to work its way northward and eastward. what follows are showers and could drop 30 mm injust one hour. but even worse than that into parts of southwest england. we've got this convergence zone and with the winds not changing, that zone locks the showers and thunderstorms right alon

jim reed, bbc news.tion secretary, gavin williamson, has set out plans to scrap bubbles in england's schools. children will only have to isolate if they test positive. let's hear some of what mr williamson had to say to mps earlier this afternoon. though keeping children in consistent groups was essential to control the spread of the virus when our population was less vaccinated, we recognise that the system of bubbles and isolation is causing disruption to many children's education. that is why we will be ending bubbles and transferring contact tracing to the nhs test and trace system for early years settings, schools and colleges. where there are outbreaks, schools and colleges may be contacted by nhs test and trace and they will also work with local health teams as they currently do now. we are also setting out new rules that mean that from the 16th of august, children will only need to isolate if they have tested positive for covid—19. i am also pleased to be able to say that there will be no restric

jim reed, bbc news. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's jane dougall.s an epic battle for the wimbledon title, but despite an early scare, world number one novak djokovic took the trophy for a sixth time. he beat italian matteo berrettini in four sets and equals the record of roger federer and rafa nadal with 20 grand slam titles. chetan pathak was watching. this has been a wimbledon like no other, played in a pandemic, and on the final sunday and the result was one that many were predicting, novak djkovic is wimbledon champion again, a sixth title for him, but the number that matters most will be 20 — he is now level on the number of grand slams with roger federer and rafael nadal, extraordinary to think that when djokovic won his first at the australian open in 2008, federer was already on 12, nadal on four. he has been playing catch—up his whole career, and now he has done it. matteo berrettini was standing in his way, the italian has lit up this tournament, 11 wins in a row on grass, if you include this fantastic run at queens. he has won many admir

jim reed, bbc news.of space, during virgin galactic�*s first fully crewed flight. take—off from new mexico was slightly delayed by bad weather but the flight is being seen as a milestone for the commencial space industry. sir richard said it was the experience of a lifetime. from spaceport america in new mexico, here's sophie long. preparations were made before take—off... about ten years, and an hour and a half behind schedule, in one of the most desolate areas of north america, a lifelong dream became reality. sir richard branson, along with two pilots and three other virgin galactic employees, were transported to the spaceship unity tethered to the mothership eve. then take—off. this is the moment he's been waiting for. after more than 16 years, and hundreds of millions of pounds, sir richard branson is now on his way to space. that's so cool. so you can see the moment when they release right there... forjust under four minutes, they experienced weightlessness and enjoyed a view of planet earth that o

jim reed, bbc news.ause of coronavirus restrictions, but some lucky supporters who live in italy will be at the game to see whether england can clinch a place in the semi—finals. our sports correspondent olly foster reports. after the euphoria of wembleyjust three nights ago, the players are refreshed and refocused. the mantra running through this england squad is that the victory against germany will count for very little unless they can get it right against ukraine tomorrow in the quarterfinals. if they do, then it won't be like this. tuesday night will live long in the memory but, in what will be their first away game in the tournament, there'll be no travelling fans. rome will be much quieter. well, it was immense the other night. i thought the fans were incredible. but, actually, i think that would be really hard to replicate three days later, so i actually think it's a good thing for us to go away from wembley to... this game will be about us. we might have some support in the stadium but, if we do

jim reed, bbc news.res, including the wider use of electronic tags for burglars after release from prison. the prime minister also wants those found guilty of anti—social behaviour to carry out unpaid work while wearing hi—vis jackets as a part of their punishment. however, labour has accused the government of being "all talk and no action," and the police federation, the union which represents rank and file officers, says it's more money that is needed to fight crime. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. if you want to know about the impact of crime, talk to darren awol, who was shot in the spine by people trying to rob him and still walks with crutches ten years on. his attackers have never been found and he thinks those who are caught are treated too leniently. with the stuff that's going on, there's not enough punishment for them. there's not enough... not enoughjustice. there's no way. some of them are coming out in two, three months. now because of covid, some people are not even

our health correspondent jim reed is here to explain. jim. what is going on?f the virus and then test positive. those figures have been very encouraging for the last week showing a sharp downward trend as you can see on the graph. on the right hand side you are saying that trent fall. there is a different way of measuring infections carefully watched and this is where the office of national statistics goes out and randomly sampled people in the population, about half—a—million people in the uk. that can measure notjust people with symptoms but people who are not sick with covid at the time. that data shows in the week to last saturday actually cases where rising slightly, across the uk, short of a million people, 950,000 had covid in that week, up from 830,000 the week before, up in england, wales and northern ireland, down slightly in scotland. why these different trends? a lot could be down to timing, that ons survey measures people up to last saturday, so it might have missed this very recent fall in those daily cases. it also measures people without sympto

jim reed, bbc news. we can speak to our political correspondent, jonathan blake. busy raft of announcements but pretty much in line of what we were getting in terms of the steer from the prime minister yesterday.— minister yesterday. nothing hugely unexected minister yesterday. nothing hugely unexpected from _ minister yesterday. nothing hugely unexpected from what _ minister yesterday. nothing hugely unexpected from what they - minister yesterday. nothing hugely unexpected from what they have i minister yesterday. nothing hugely i unexpected from what they have had to say in the house of commons today. heavily hinted at by the premise yesterday, those changes both to the school system in england with an end to the bubble arrangement, which has seen whole classes or whole year groups in some instances, sent home and told to isolate if one pupil developed coronavirus. that system will go. along with some other changes announced by gavin williamson and from the health secretary sajid javid, more details on the system of isolation in england. if you have come into co

jim reed, bbc news.ohnson has said in the past the lifting of restrictions should be "irreversible" — has there been a change of tone on that? yes, i think there has, not least because we can hear no from the ministers and are certainly over the weekend them being very, very cautious and downing street in what it has told us prior to this press conference at 5pm emphasising caution and vigilance. what has changed and what is seeing the same will... well, what is doing the same is as far as england is concerned as the government were singing we go, we would get to the day and a judgment would be taking on whether next monday could be the unlocking point. that is happening as was predicted a week ago. the datable stack up any prime minister will see later to justify stack up any prime minister will see later tojustify taking stack up any prime minister will see later to justify taking that final step next week. but what has changed, that is the language and it will be peppered with caution, vigilance and a

jim reed, bbc news.ths recorded in the last 2a hours, and 31,772 new infections across the uk. it means on average there were around 31,500 new cases per day in the past week. more than 93,000 people had a first dose of the vaccine in the last 2a hours. that means nearly 46 million people have had their firstjab, or 87% of uk adults. more than 211,000 people have just had a second dose, which means more than 34.5 million, or 66% of adults, are fully vaccinated. sir richard branson flew to the edge of space this afternoon, during virgin galactic�*s first fully crewed flight. take—off from new mexico was slightly delayed by bad weather, but the flight is being seen as a milestone for the commercial space industry. sir richard said it was the experience of a lifetime. from spaceport america, sophie long reports. preparations were made before take—off... about ten years and an hour and a half behind schedule, in one of the most desolate areas of north america, a lifelong dream became reality. sir richard bra

jim reed, bbc news. simone ferris says he believes online races of buttes is getting worse.sir mo farah has won multiple medals in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres and now he wants to give his support to england's footballers, who were racially abused. it was really important for myself to show support throughout the world for black people. do you think that the abuse that some black sportsmen and women receive is actually getting worse? it seems like it's getting worse, in my honest opinion, because back in the days — or back in my time, should i say — there was never so much social media. what kind of racist messages have you had on social media? i've had some shocking ones. i've had some that say, "you don't belong here." i've had quite a bit. how does that make you feel? to me, this is my home. i've always thought that. the social media companies need to do a lot more. they have to be accountable to what people get up to. even myself, i've had some shocking ones where people have sent the message, i've gone delete, i've blocked, i've gone report, gone back to the report, noth

jim reed, bbc news.rmer soldiers who were facing murder charges from the troubles, including on bloody sunday in 1972. 0ur correspondent in londonderry is danjohnson. first, just take us back 50 years ago, but still an acute episode. just remind us what happened. bloody sunda is just remind us what happened. bloody sunday is one — just remind us what happened. bloody sunday is one of _ just remind us what happened. bloody sunday is one of those _ just remind us what happened. bloody sunday is one of those days _ just remind us what happened. bloody sunday is one of those days that - sunday is one of those days that really spells out the worst of the troubles. the scenes from that day or some of the images that to find the most painful point and northern ireland's history. there was a march through the bauxite estate here, and at the end, there was fire on a crowd and shot dead 13 people. amongst those dad that day were james ray and william mckinney. the only person to have been prosecuted out of those e

here's our health correspondent, jim reed.ome forward normally with symptoms of the virus and then test positive. those figures have been very encouraging for the last week showing a sharp downward trend as you can see on the graph. on the right hand side you are saying seeing that trend fall. there is a different way of measuring infections carefully watched and this is where the office of national statistics goes out and randomly samples people in the population, about half—a—million people in the uk. that can measure notjust people with symptoms but people who are not sick with covid at the time. that data shows in the week to last saturday, actually, cases were rising slightly, across the uk, short of a million people, 950,000 had covid in that week, up from 830,000 the week before. up in england, wales and northern ireland, down slightly in scotland. why these two different trends? a lot could be down to timing, that ons survey measures people up to last saturday, so it might have missed this very recent fall in those dai

jim reed, bbc news.n decades. in parts of wider europe. an increasing number of businesses are warning it's becoming impossible to operate properly because of the impact of staff being told to self—isolate by the nhs test and trace app. half of patients admitted to hospital during the first wave of coronavirus developed at least one complication in their kidneys, lungs and heart, according to new research. well, we stay with the subject of coronavirus. the uk government has updated its travel guidance and no longer advises against all but essential travel to bulgaria and croatia. both are currently on the amber list and will move to the green list next monday. the travel advice issued by the foreign, commonwealth and development office is independent from the government's traffic light system. as the number of people getting "pinged" in the uk continues to rise, business leaders are also now warning some shops and factories may have to temporarily close because so many employees are isolating. the transp

jim reed, bbc news.ience correspondent jonathan amos has been following this closely. so, a successful mission? yeah, it was picture perfect actually. they took off slightly later than planned because they wanted the best weather window above new mexico in the us commitment when they got going, everything seemed to go according to plan. the carrier aircraft carried this vehicle, unity to a high of about 15 km, 16,000 feet or something like that, and let it go. the vehicle dropped, waited a minute or so, it go. the vehicle dropped, waited a minute orso, and it go. the vehicle dropped, waited a minute or so, and then it fired its engine and climbed skyward going high up above the earth. the official or should i say unofficial at this moment because it has not been officially confirmed is 85 km altitude, 53 miles. in the us government classifies the edge of space as being 50 miles, 80 km. and before today, only 580 individuals have been above that mark, so sir richard can count himself as an astronaut from

jim reed, bbc news.you are very lucky indeed. the match at wembley is one of the biggest sporting events in years, and it's sold—out. but that hasn't stopped tickets for the match? being advertised for thousands of pounds online and across social media. uefa and the uk government are warning people not to get caught out by touts. our correspondent steve holden is here. iam being i am being pestered all the time by one of our producers to get him a ticket. not much chance of it. what prices are they going for?— prices are they going for? online, astronomical _ prices are they going for? online, astronomical figures. _ prices are they going for? online, astronomical figures. i _ prices are they going for? online, astronomical figures. i looked - prices are they going for? online, astronomical figures. i looked on | astronomicalfigures. i looked on one secondary ticket website which is essentially a big marketplace being offered for £15,000 for one ticket. generally, they start at about 2005 and pounds £300

our health correspondent jim reed reports. respond? from next week, masks and social distancing will no longer be enforced. instead, it will be up to individuals and businesses to make their own decisions. i think the way he's done it is great and i think lifting it completely, i think, should go slowly. i think it's quite scary. it might be too soon. the vaccines are definitely working, they've done theirjob, _ it's stopping the deaths - which was the main concern, so i don't see it as a big problem. with covid infections rising, the language from government has become more cautious. ministers are stressing that life should not return to normal straightaway. it's about learning to live with the virus, to strike a balance, but also accepting that the restrictions themselves have health consequences as well as economic consequences, so whichever way the government goes on this, there are consequences. the government's scientific advisers think that even with vaccinations, this latest wave of the virus could lead to between 1,00

jim reed reports. i'm in icu. my lungs collapsed. and i'vejust found out i have pneumonia.old last march when he was taken to hospital with what later turned out to be covid. it was the worst experience of my life, obviously. it was horrific. it's one of those things, you don't know how to really deal with it but you mentallyjust do. you don't know how. before the pandemic, paul was diagnosed with bronchiectasis, a serious lung condition. in hospital, he was told covid had caused pneumonia. i couldn't believe how this virus had ruined my body so quickly. and the fight that i would have to fight. i could see on their face they were quite shocked, but they did everything they could and i was rushed straight to intensive care. put on every machine possible to help my breathing. they acted amazingly. the nhs are phenomenal. paul was treated here in colchester last year. he is certain the staff at this hospital saved his life. what we didn't know at the time, though, was just how much damage a severe covid infection could do to the body. now a new study has looked back at the fi

i know you will be staying to listening to the briefing as well, jim reed, our health correspondent.n self isolation. it hearing from a prime minister in self isolation.— self isolation. it is going to be very unusual. _ self isolation. it is going to be very unusual. we _ self isolation. it is going to be very unusual. we got - self isolation. it is going to be very unusual. we got used - self isolation. it is going to be very unusual. we got used to | self isolation. it is going to be - very unusual. we got used to some remote interventions by the prime minister when he was a very sick with covid, and other occasions, but now he is doing this from chequers, a press conference on a day that some conservative mps have called freedom day. the government doesn't use that phrase, and you can see why, and that is the interesting aspect of this, that when boris johnson used to talk about this fourth step on the so—called road map for england, it felt that that would be a moment of returning to normality, maybe even signalling the end of the pandemic. 0f normality, maybe even signalling th

here's our health correspondent, jim reed. it's been an extraordinary yearfor the nhs.lth secretary, it's another concern as he starts his first full month on thejob. in the past, the government has said a rise of 1% is affordable at a time when pay elsewhere in the public sector has been frozen. it is waiting for independent pay review bodies covering nhs workers to make final recommendations before deciding whether to increase that offer. but demands for higher pay are coming notjust from senior doctors. the nursing union is calling for a 12.5% pay rise this year and may also ballot for industrial action. we have a massive shortage of nurses. we've had a year like no other year. people are exhausted, morale is really low and the nhs has got a lot of ground to recover. it's absolutely vital that there's a significant pay award for nurses and other health care workers this year in order that we retain all of those staff. pay talks are also under way in wales, where the government has said it will not set a 1% ceiling on pay awards. in northern ireland and scotland, all

our health correspondent jim reed reports.t learning to live with the virus, to strike a balance, but also accepting that the restrictions themselves have health consequences as well as economic consequences, so whichever way the government goes on this, there are consequences. the government's scientific advisers think that even with vaccinations, this latest wave of the virus could lead to between 1,000 and 2,000 hospital admissions a day. that would be half the level seen injanuary, but the doctors' union is warning there could still be an impact on the nhs. we know the infection rate has gone down in the older population, so why not use that scientific evidence, spend a few more weeks vaccinating the younger population properly, double vaccinating them, and at that time, if you remove these restrictions, you will not see the same impact of increases of infection and hospitalisation. in scotland, the first minister has been setting out whether some restrictions can be relaxed next week. in wales, lockdown rules will be revi

we went back to walter reed general hospital to talk with jim and we found a man dead.are you doing? >> fine, sir. >> how are you feeling? >> feeling? >> just fine. >> tell me what happened to you. where were you? >> 15 miles north of the 38 and there was a counterattack so we waited around for a while and the chinese started popping up in 15 or 20 minutes later we were overrun by the chinese and there were only five of us left so we were taken to the hill. a concussion grenade went off in front of my face and knocked me out. i figured two hours after that they have put me in a foxhole. >> you lost your eyes. >> yes, sir. >> i was washing blood off of my face and after that they told me they were going to move me out on a march. they would be 25 miles per day. >> was this the only medical treatment he received? >> yes. >> water to wash your face-off? >> yes. in the march they wouldn't let us take water. if we crossed the pond we would scoop it up with a cup we had in our hands. this one kid shot at chinese. >> they have a trial and he didn't have any weapons. >> no, sir

our health correspondentjim reed is here to go through the data. what are the numbers, jim?ening. the uk reported 29,173 further cases over the last 24—hour period, meaning the average of new cases over the last week was 38,268. you can see on the graph, a further 28 deaths in the last 2a hours. looking at the graph you can see the effect of the vaccine on reducing hospital admissions as well. you can see on the right—hand side, far below infections. in terms of vaccines, more than 46 million people have had their first vaccines, more than 46 million people have had theirfirstjab vaccines, more than 46 million people have had their firstjab and more than 37 million people have had the second dive and fully vaccinated.— the second dive and fully vaccinated. .,, , , ., ., vaccinated. those figures showing a dro in the vaccinated. those figures showing a dmp in the new _ vaccinated. those figures showing a drop in the new daily _ vaccinated. those figures showing a drop in the new daily infections, - drop in the new daily infections, how much can we read into that? trier? how m

jim in caliente, california, you are first up with annette gordon-reed. >> caller: thank you very much for taking my call. and, professor reed, i've been fascinated listening to you. it's been wonderful. my question is about sally hemings and thomas jefferson. what do we know about the relationship? obviously, he owned her. a horrible thing to say, but he owned her. was there love there? was there just she was e handy? there were many women, i'm sure, who would have been more than happy to be his companion. i understand that he had promised his wife he would not remarry. but what do we know about the interpersonal as much as we can know about that this. >> host: thank you, jim. >> guest: well, we don't know anything specific about the nature of their connection. there are people who say that it could only be, you know, rape because he owned her, as you mentioned, he owned her. his -- sally hemings' grandchildren, a couple great grandchildren, i'm trying to get the precise number here right. they talked about how jefferson felt about her, that he loved her. mr. jefferson loved her dearl

book, i've taken enough of your time, let's hear from our callers, jim and caliente california you are first up with annette gordon-reed. >> thank you very much for taking my call and professor rita been very fascinated listening to you it's been wonderful. my question is about sally him maintenance and thomas jefferson, what we know about the relationship obviously he owned her, was there love their, she was handy in many women who would've been more than happy to be his companion, i understand he promised his wife he would not remarry. but what do we know about the interpersonal as much as we can about that. guest: we don't know anything specific about the nature of the collection of people who say you mentioned he owned her, sally hemmings grandchildren a couplen great-grandchildren and trying to get the purse twice number right they talked about how jefferson what he said about her and that he loved her and mr. jefferson loved her dearly and they don't talk about how she felt about him and once she comes back to the united states this is something that started when they were in france were sally hemmings and her br

jim from california you are first. >>caller: thank you very much for taking my call professor reed i have been fascinated listening to you. it has been wonderful. my question is about sally hemmings and thomas jefferson. what do we know about their relationship?? obviously he owned her but was there love? she t was handy there were many women i'm sure would have been more than happy to be his companion. iif understand he promised his wife he would not remarry. but what do we know about the interpersonal? >> we don't know anything specific about the nature. there are people who say there could only, be rape because he owned her. but his great-grandchildren talked about how jefferson felt about her and he loved her dearly they said they don't talk about how she felt about him. and once she comes back to the united states with him because this started when they were in france were sally hemmings anden her brother james could have taken their freedom there and of course she thinks about doing that but jefferson promises her that if she comes back she will live a good life at monticello and the children would be freed at 21.